Archive of posts filed under the Suffering category.

At the close of yesterday’s Gospel reading for the First Sunday of Lent, Jesus proclaims: (Mark 1:15) “For the time has been fulfilled and the kingdom of God has drawn near. Repent and believe in the Gospel.” Courtesy: Sacred Bible: Catholic Public Domain Version Repent means to be sorrowful of your sins and make a …

There is a very reassuring passage from the Second Reading in today’s Mass for the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Romans 8:28 “We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” (Courtesy The Sacred Bible: Catholic Public Domain Version) Reassuring inasmuch as it helps …

The following quote from St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans has appeared quite frequently in recent days in my Facebook feed and this morning in my daily reading from The Imitation of Christ (Book III, Ch. 59 No. 2): Romans 8:28 And we know that, for those who love God, all things work together unto …

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This is a sequel to the post Spiritual Alchemy. There is another benefit to what I said then: I quoted from St. Paul’s First Letter to the Christians of Corinth. In “making up” for what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ, in accepting our sufferings we can add to the tremendous storehouse of graces …

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The word “alchemy” is defined by my dictionary software as: “-An imaginary art which aimed to transmute the baser metals into gold, to find the panacea, or universal remedy for diseases, etc. It led the way to modern chemistry. [1913 Webster] – Miraculous power of transmuting something common into something precious. [1913 Webster]” In other …

The Gospel reading for today’s Mass for the Friday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time is an appropriate one for a Friday, given the day’s significance as the day Jesus suffered and died. Mark 8:34-37 “And calling together the crowd with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone chooses to follow me, let …

NOTE: Post updated AGAIN with a corrected link and additional items. Calling Catholic men (and ladies, too!) Fr. Richard Heilman of the Roman Catholic Man site has a challenge for you! Quote: “Inspired by the excellent program, “Exodus 90,” and all of the research that reveals it takes 90 days to replace bad habits (even …

NOTE: This is an edited version of a post previously published to “Paul Sofranko’s Blog” St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe was executed in the Nazi German concentration camp at Auschwitz seventy-five years ago today for being a Catholic priest. He was a Conventual Franciscan friar and Guardian (leader, administrator) of Niepokalanow, then the world’s largest friary …

Continuing along with my weekly Passion meditations from (almost) every Friday, this last one on July 15th managed to get me only one more verse into Matthew’s account before stopping. Matthew 26:42 “Again, a second time, he went and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this chalice cannot pass away, unless I drink it, let your …

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(NOTE: Portions of this post were cobbled together from earlier ones.) Tomorrow is Divine Mercy Sunday. It is a new celebration established by Pope St. John Paul II in 2000 when he canonized a Polish nun who had received messages (or “interior locutions”) from Jesus in the 1930’s. (These are an accepted part of Catholicism, although …